"We're leaving!" Mom's voice echoed through the house, followed by the definitive thud of the front door closing.
I stayed lying on the bed, processing everything I'd just dug up from the internet about this new world.
It turns out that today—literally today—a "freak" with super strength and flight appeared in Metropolis, stopping a robbery at Lex-Bank. Ironic.
Meanwhile, in the "Cursed City" of Gotham, rumors have been swirling for a year about a psycho in a terrifying horned costume jumping across rooftops and beating the hell out of "peaceful" citizens.
I'm really in it now. I'd rather be wiping my back with straw in some generic fantasy world if it meant I got a harem and OP powers.
But this? Costumed psychos, Supers, shadow organizations, alien invasions, demons, warring gods, and the cherry on top—cosmic horrors that eat multiverses for breakfast.
Put me back, Mom. This world is way too scary. Honestly, even Marvel would be better—at least they don't have... wait, never mind, Marvel is just as bad.
I need to get stronger immediately. I don't want to be "smeared across the pavement" before I even realize what happened.
Ideally, I'd become the strongest. Would a harem be included? Who knows. But getting strong is priority number one, and luckily, I have a way.
I opened the "Gacha" tab. It was your typical mobile game interface: balance at the top, banners in the middle, and multi-pull options at the bottom.
The good news: I'm not broke. I have 1,505 crystals (Fantasms).
The bad news: the prices are predatory. 50 crystals for one pull, 500 for a ten-pull with a "guaranteed" item.
Since the daily reward is only 5 crystals, the math is depressing.
There were two banners: "Standard" with a starry background, and "DC Comics" with the official studio logo.
The DC banner has a 50% increased chance for DC Multiverse related cards. I didn't know if these cards were useful or just for a digital "Collection," but I had to find out.
I checked the "Shop" and nearly gagged. It's a full-blown P2W dumpster fire. You trade real cash for game currency.
$9.90 gets you 50 crystals—one single pull. A "guarantee" costs a hundred bucks.
There's even a "monthly limit" on how much you can spend. A limit on P2W? What kind of heresy is that?
But since I'm currently grounded with no allowance, I'll have to rely on what I have.
A notification popped up:
[ Quest "First Steps in a New World" Completed. ]
[ Reward: 80 XP. ]
[ Level Up! ]
Nice. Level 7. I got 5 stat points and 1 skill point.
My Gacha balance also jumped to 1,755. It seems I get 250 Fantasms per level. That's a decent incentive to grind.
"Alright, Luck... don't screw me over!" I tapped the ten-pull button on the Standard banner.
Ten rainbow spheres swirled into a circle and exploded in a firework of light.
Here's the haul:
Lay's Chips (Sour Cream and Onion) - Are you kidding me?
Nodachi (Japanese longsword) - Better than chips, I guess.
Musashi's Panties (Used) - Azur Lane - ...I have lost all faith in humanity.
Tea Kettle - Regular metal kettle. Still better than used underwear.
Enhancement Card - This looks useful. It upgrades items or abilities.
Ingrid - Black Lilith - Wait, I recognize this pink-haired demon knight. This is... oh god, she's from a hentai.
72-hour Shonen World Ticket - A random jump to a Shonen world for three days? High risk, high reward.
iPhone 14 Pro-Max - A literal copy of my world's phone. No Apple brand in this world, apparently.
Chun-Li - Street Fighter - The Queen of Thighs herself! Finally, a win.
380mm Armor-Piercing Shell (Bismarck) - What am I supposed to do with a tank-sized bullet?
I opened the "Collection" tab. Each card has a "Summon" function.
I tested it with the chips. Poof. A bag of Lay's appeared in the air and hit me square in the face.
Thank god I didn't test it with the sword or the 800kg battleship shell.
I tested the Inventory. Time stops inside the storage space. Perfect for keeping food fresh or hiding evidence.
Now for the big one: Unification.
Looking at the Ingrid card, I saw "Merge" and "Unity" options.
I don't want to turn into a sexy demoness (W.I.T.C.H. style), but the "Unity" thing reminded me of Shaman King.
Since Ingrid is a high-level hentai character with a questionable will, I'm not risking it with her yet.
Chun-Li is a safer bet. She's "Lawful Neutral" and definitely not from a hentai... mostly.
I tapped "Unity" with Chun-Li. I felt a rush of energy and... knowledge?
I checked my stats:
Strength: 19 (+2)
Agility: 18 (+4)
Martial Arts: Level 3 (+14)
Chinese Martial Arts: Level 1 (+22)
The boosts were insane. I got her combat experience, her firearms training, and even her cooking and calligraphy skills.
But then I saw it:
Mastery in Sex: Level 4 (+17)
Oral Skills: Level 3 (+11)
Masturbation: Level 17 (+4)
Dammit! Why did she give me levels in that?
And wait... Michael, what was your level before the boost? Why do you have a level 17 in "Self-Service"?
(I didn't do anything! Maybe it's you!) (SHUT UP!)
I need to deal with this later. I cancelled the Unity. I saw a "Unity Progress" bar at 23.1%.
Suddenly, the bar dropped by 1.5%. Did she just get offended by my reaction?
Great. Now I'm offending the spirits of legendary street fighters.
I need a drink. My throat is suddenly very dry.